This year's 72 female kids have left, to live on pasture across the road from the farm. They will play and mature before rejoining the milking herd 

Roberto and the reluctant llamas follow the goats



The “Dolly Llama” mother and daughter team



The summer of their youth! Luscious pasture, shady trees, llama guardians..



Bart, left behind, patrolling the fence

Hyssop. Useful as a medicinal tea

The guidebook Eccentric California brings you the Horned Toad Derby, the World Famous Asphalt Museum, World Pillow Fighting Championships… and Outstanding in the Field. There's no joke, though. Nine years down the road, Outstanding in the Field has a sell-out calendar of dinners as fleeting artistic experiences. Celebrated chefs cook local food, but at the farm, or on the beach. The farmers join you at dinner. All the charm of picnicking, but no need for you to fill any thermoses. Linens, fine wines, posies on the tables, and stars in the sky. Katy Oursler was for several years mistress of these ceremonies, welcoming lucky guests to these intensely memorable meals. She is now their private events director.

Luckily, Katy has joined us at Harley Farms, to bring an exceptional twist to our already extraordinary parties. Katy's the oldest of five children who grew up with a huge garden, so she can tell lovage from hyssop at a hundred paces, and knows no greater pleasure than sharing local food with friends. She's all elegance, with not a hint of garden under her fingernails, and you'll meet her at our Spring Dinner in May.

Lovage. Delightful as a soup

We had an astonishing morning with the second grade from Woodside Elementary. It was bright and a little cold, the babies were sunbathing against the barn, the mothers were out on the pasture, and the tour went as usual, until we came to the loafing barn.

Woodside Elementary at Harley Farms

An idyllic April morning

The most complete nest we've found on the farm

Goats generally tear their nests apart after giving birth, both to eat and to cover their newborns, but a first-time mother had been disturbed before she could destroy her nest. This is the first time we've ever seen such a relatively intact nest in the barn, and it was a lucky coincidence that we had the second-graders on the farm this very morning. There was a clutch of eggs, some with their prototype horns visible (these are the males). We were able to take small groups of children up close, although vibrations could disturb the hatching eggs. We'll keep an eye on them throughout the day, because the errant mother is unlikely to return now that we've discovered her nest. Hopefully, some of the eggs will hatch in the warmth of the afternoon sun. One of the children thought he saw some movement, so fingers crossed for baby goats today!!

You can see the tiny horns on the egg to the right

Farm life: mud, afterbirth, curds and whey … and beautiful girls. San Francisco photographer Michele Clement took a series of “naturalistic” fashion portraits on the farm a few days ago. The models were ivory and diaphanous like slivers of parmigiano on the most expensive of salads. They clutched bunches of daffodils and gazed naturalistically across the farm. Ryan and Luis took several “short-cuts” outside to gaze back.

 

We are immensely touched by the response to our call for a shepherd. Engineers, teachers, a professional cyclist, several chefs, many musicians, and, most enchantingly, a poet were among those of you who were interested in weeding goats. Many of you declared your love of animals, others pointed out that their experience herding children would certainly help with goats. Chefs were intrigued by the position, but only goats will be doing the eating. There would be time to compose, but your music might have to play second fiddle to wandering weed-eaters..

The Harley Herd shepherd will run the weeding flock as a separate business within our dairy business, generating their own income. We will trial the weedbusting this year, and add retiring milking goats next year.

Thank you to everybody who was interested. We're sorry not to interview all the exceptional people who applied, but welcome you to the farm soon.